Part 6: America Resurgent
1. A Dangerous World
a. “Our country faces a national security crisis and only electing a Republican to the White House will we restore law and order to our land and safety to our citizens.”
b. “We are the party of peace through strength”
i. We believe that American exceptionalism requires the US to retake its natural position as leader of the free world
c. “The oppressed have no greater ally than the US, backed by the strongest military on the planet”
i. But…not the oppressed people in our own country, I guess.
d. We will rebuild the military into the strongest on earth – because it’s a dangerous world
e. Obama weakened our military
f. support maintaining and possibly increasing sanctions against Russia unless they restore Ukraine’s sovereignty
2. Confronting the Dangers
a. We must move from a budget-based strategy to one that puts the security of our nation first.
b. We need a “Reagan-era force”
c. abandon arms control treaties that benefit our adversaries
d. fund, develop, and deploy a multi-layered missile defense system
e. modernize nuclear weapons, and end the policy of Mutually Assured Destruction
f. Our nation’s immigration and refugee policies are placing Americans at risk
i. Renew National Security Entry-Exit Registration System
ii. I talked about this in the immigration section before, but no…they’re not.
3. Supporting Our Troops: Resources to do Their Job
a. US defense budget has suffered and we want to lift the budget cap for defense
b. Competitive acquisition and maintenance of weapon systems will benefit the economy and taxpayers
i. Increased competition will enable new Department of Defense suppliers to participate in the defense sector and will create more jobs
4. Supporting Our Troops: Standing by Our Heroes
a. National Defense Authorization Act of 2016 corrects shortfalls in military readiness
i. Gave troops a pay raise
b. Military families should be taken care of
c. Extend more support for those who have been in combat
d. Obama administration tried to silence Christian chaplains
i. we want to increase the size of the Chaplain Corps
ii. we can’t allow Bibles or religious symbols to be barred from military facilities
e. Oppose reinstating the draft except in dire circumstances
i. also oppose compulsory national service and selective service registration of women
5. Citizen Soldiers: National Guard and Reserves
a. oppose cuts to the Guard and Reserves
b. recommend a permanent line item for National Guard affairs
6. Honoring and Supporting Our Veterans: A Sacred Obligation
a. The VA has failed and needs to be held accountable
i. we will seek changes in senior leadership of the VA
ii. Should strengthen and improve its efforts through partnerships with private enterprises, veteran service organizations, technology and innovation, and competitive bidding.
b. Veterans deserve better medical care
i. they should be allowed to choose to access care in the community and not just in VA facilities
c. VA has a shortage of physicians and that needs to be remedied
d. private sector should make hiring vets a priority
e. we will halt the Obama Administration’s unconstitutional automatic denial of gun ownership to returning members of our Armed Forces who have had representatives appointed to manage their financial affairs
i. Here’s a source looking at what Trump has done to make good on his promises to the VA. Sorry if it’s not that great, I don’t have time to really look into it deeply. https://www.propublica.org/series/inside-trump-va
f. Promote the hiring of qualified veterans as teachers in public schools
i. Their proven abilities and life experiences will make them more successful instructors and role models for students than would any teaching degree.
ii. I do not like this at all. Life experience does not make you a good teacher. Sure, there are probably some people who are natural teachers, but I think anyone who wants to become a teacher needs to go through some sort of training and certification, no exceptions.
7. America: The Indispensable Nation
a. Democrats do not stand by allies or stand strong against our foes. They “pander to world opinion and neglect the national interest” they cannot be trusted with our national security
b. America is the world leader and we should be super strong to show everyone we are in charge
8. Challenges of a Changing Middle East
a. “The Middle East is more dangerous now than at any time since the Second World War”
b. Obama Administration made a bad deal with Iran and it shouldn’t have treaty status
c. ISIS is a huge problem and we will destroy them
i. Hezbollah must be isolated and Lebanon’s independence restored
d. We will support the transition to a post-Assad Syrian government that contributes to peace and stability in the region
e. We should continue to partnership with Iraq as long as ISIS is still around.
f. Concern about Christian communities in the Middle East
g. We need to aid those who are suffering
h. continue to support Kurdish people
i. The US government should create a safe haven in northern Iraq to protect ethnic and civil minorities who are facing genocide at the hands of ISIS
9. Our Unequivocal Support for Israel
a. Israel stands out among the nations as a beacon of democracy and humanity
i. It is the only country in the Middle East where freedom of speech and freedom of religion are found
b. Support for Israel is an expression of Americanism
c. America is committed to Israel’s security
i. support Israel’s right to defend itself against terror attacks
d. Reject the notion that Israel is an occupier
e. want to assist in establishing peace in the Middle East
10. U.S. Leadership in the Asian Pacific
a. Continue to demand a dismantlement of N Korea’s nuclear weapons program
b. We are friends with Taiwan
c. China is a problem and Obama was complacent
i. They are returning to Maoism
d. We are friends with Pakistan, Burma, Vietnam, and India
11. Renewing the European Alliance
a. demand that fellow members of NATO fulfill their commitments and invest more fully in their militaries
b. Lots of support for Europe, we’re friends
c. we respect Russian people and want to maintain a friendship
i. worried about erosion of personal liberty under the Kremlin
d. help out Eurasian countries that used to be part of the Soviet Empire, bring them into the global economy
12. Family of the Americas
a. Partnership with Mexico and Canada
b. Mexican people deserve our assistance as they resist drug cartels
c. We will never embrace Marxist dictators as friends
i. Obama let Venezuela become a narco-terrorist state
d. friendship with Colombia
e. welcome Cuba back to our family
i. they were betrayed by the Obama Administration
ii. support the work of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba
13. Africa: The Promise and the Challenge
a. pledge to be the best partner of all African nations in their pursuit of economic freedom and human rights
b. extended to 2025 the African Growth and Opportunity Act
c. stand in solidarity with the countries under assault by radical Islam
14. Sovereign American Leadership in International Organizations
a. continued participation in the UN should be contingent upon the enactment of changes in the way it functions
i. Don’t like the makeup of the Human Rights Council, and how it treats Israel
ii. too complicit with China population control
b. Do not support the UN Convention on Women’s Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the UN Arms Trade Treaty
c. deep reservations about the Law of the Sea Treaty
d. Reject UN Agenda 21
e. oppose any form of Global Tax
f. do not accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court
i. service members should only be subject to American law
15. Defending International Religious Freedom
a. US Commission on International Religious Freedom was neglected by Obama
i. religious minorities in the Middle East have been victims of genocide and persecution
b. Call on leaders across the Middle East to ensure that all religious minorities are free to practice their religion without persecution.
c. China has renewed its destruction of churches and Christian home-schooling parents have been jailed in parts of Europe
i. Republican administration will return the advocacy of religious liberty to a central place in democracy
16. America’s Generosity: International Assistance that Makes a Difference
a. Foreign aid must serve America’s interests first
b. Millennium Challenge Corporation has established a new model of foreign assistance that we must embrace
c. the advance of political freedom and entrepreneurial capitalism is the only sustainable solution to poverty
d. Obama Administration excluded faith-based groups in foreign assistance because they did not conform to their social agenda
17. Advancing Human Rights
a. Radical Islamic Terrorism poses a threat to the whole world.
b. we will fight at home and abroad to destroy terrorist organizations
c. “Republicans have led the way in promoting initiatives that have protected and rescued millions of the world’s most vulnerable and persecuted”
i. For the umpteenth time…I really wish they had a source cited for some of these claims.
d. human rights are more important than the economy, the climate, and security
18. Liberty to Captives: Combatting Human Trafficking
a. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 was great, we should continue to punish traffickers
b. prevent overseas labor contractors who exploit foreign workers from exporting goods to the US
c. prevent the demand for trafficking victims, will prosecute “sex tourists”
d. Work to make sure trafficking victims among migrants are identified and cared for
i. The biggest problem here is that if we find victims of trafficking are illegal, we don’t actually take care of them, we just deport them. So they stay in trafficking situations because they don’t want to go back home either. It’s a problem.
e. the goal of our anti-trafficking programs should be the rescue and safe return of victims to their homes
i. I talked about trafficking in a previous section, but wanted to put in this little point here…the problem with the goal being to return victims to their homes is that MOST victims are being trafficked FROM their homes, or ended up in trafficking after escaping a dangerous home life. So returning them to their homes is not necessarily the safest or best end goal.
19. Facing 21st Century Threats: Cybersecurity in an Insecure World
a. Russia and China see cyber operations as a part of warfare strategy during peacetime
i. We should act decisively and weaken control over the internet by regimes that engage in cyber crimes
ii. We need to go on offense to avoid the cyber-equivalent of Pearl Harbor
b. Our cyber workforce should be expanded to better protect the country
c. Russia meddled in the 2016 election. And they are set to do it again. This article is long but worth the read. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/putin-american-democracy/610570/
20. Protection Against an Electromagnetic Pulse
a. Nuclear weapons are a real threat
b. Electrical utilities in the US must act to protect the national grid
21. Confronting Internet Tyranny
a. internet firewall circumvention and anti-censorship technology must become a national priority
b. we must focus on internet freedom in authoritarian societies
c. Republicans will champion an open and free internet
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